We should reject hard-to-drive speakers more often


Sorry I know this is a bit of a rant, but come on people!!

Too many audiophiles find speakers which are hard to drive and... stick with them!

We need to reject hard-to-drive speakers as being Hi-Fi. Too many of us want our speakers to be as demanding as we are with a glass of wine. "Oh, this speaker sounds great with any amplifier, but this one needs amps that weigh more than my car, so these speakers MUST sound better..."

Speakers which may be discerning of amplifier current delivery are not necessarily any good at all at playing actual music. 

That is all.

erik_squires

Showing 3 responses by ctsooner

Late to the party, but I’ll never understand why folks don’t put systems together as a system and not just parts. Seems like folks just run to the net any buy used thinking it will all play well together. So many great products for all to enjoy, but not if they don’t play well together in the sandbox. Jmho. Not always about hard to drive, but I can say for my ears I usually gravitate to speakers that are easy to drive for most amps. 

Just found this thread again.  I completely agree with you about your post Sounds_real!  Too many folks read specs etc… and forget to put a true ‘system’ together.  As long as you have the system to match your speakers, you’ll never have to worry about specs and how hard or easy a speaker is to drive.  

I’ve always marveled at how many folks just assume speakers with lower efficiency ratings assume they are hard to drive etc…, but in fact they may end up being easy to drive in real life.  

Eric, that's why I use dealers and purchase from them. They are the ones who do the work as they carry what will work together best and what will be reliable (they can't make money when things break down).  

Too often folks just buy 'top rated' this or that or component of the month.  I found a speaker I love and then I listen to the dealers as well as what the manufacturer uses and it's a start.  

When reading posts online, you see where spec defy reality.  There are just too many factors like room size, ones own hearing, what's in the room (room sound) etc...  Yes, trial and error is a huge part of this hobby isn't it?  I may read threads and mags, but my ears are always the final factor.  Just because a high efficiency speaker seems easy to drive, that doesn't mean it the electronics will sound good with them, just that they can 'drive' them.  I'm not an engineer, nor do I need to be to know what sounds good.  

I don't have the money for trail and error purchasing and selling like so many seem to have (or they do it and keep loosing money on the treadmill) so I audition before purchasing.  It's very rare that I don't and that includes my high priced cables and cords.  That's just me. We all have our own way to purchase and I'm not dissing anyone else's way.  It's all good and it's still all about the music for me.